


homecoming

by oliviarosegold



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Mother-Daughter Relationship, Mother-Son Relationship, Oneshot, Post-Tartarus (Percy Jackson), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Sally Jackson is a Good Parent, and we'll call it a oneshot, but i abandoned it, mama bear sally jackson, post-tartarus stress disorder, she loves her children, so have this excerpt from chapter 1 instead, this was meant to be a long fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-24
Updated: 2019-12-24
Packaged: 2021-02-26 06:20:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 878
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21928855
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oliviarosegold/pseuds/oliviarosegold
Summary: Percy and Annabeth return to his mother's apartment after escaping Tartarus. They are both broken, but at least they have Sally to love them while they heal.
Relationships: Annabeth Chase & Sally Jackson, Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson, Paul Blofis/Sally Jackson, Percy Jackson & Sally Jackson
Comments: 5
Kudos: 192





	homecoming

**Author's Note:**

> short chapter one of a longer fic I was planning but abandoned. figured I'd post it anyway because it sort of works as a standalone oneshot. enjoy!

Percy ran a hand through his tangled hair. As bad as his was, Annabeth’s was infinitely worse. After a week in Tartarus, without a hairbrush or a shower or a mirror, her once perfect golden curls were now matted and tangled and browned with dirt. 

Their homecoming was a strange memory. There was a lot of hugging, a lot of crying, a lot of questions and not nearly enough answers. Neither one of them wanted to talk. Sally made Annabeth tea, but it got cold on the coffee table, untouched. Sally and Paul shared too many nervous glances for Percy’s liking. It was clear how worried they both were. Percy was too exhausted to worry about being worried about. 

Sally was the first to break the silence. “You both look exhausted. You should get some rest. There’ll be dinner waiting when you wake up.” 

Percy didn’t need to be told twice. He dragged himself up off the couch and looked back at Annabeth expectantly. She was still staring out the window at the traffic below them like she hadn’t heard.

“Beth.”

Annabeth shook her head. She was mumbling something about the sun and monsters and not going to sleep. Paul, who was sitting next to her on the couch, looked very worried. He opened his mouth to speak but Percy cut him off. “Leave her alone.” There was no bitterness behind his words, only understanding. He spoke like they’d been through this before and he knew how to handle it. He pressed a kiss to the top of her matted curls and disappeared into his bedroom. 

Hours later, Percy was eating lasagna with Sally and Paul. Annabeth hadn’t spoken since her earlier mumbling, and she shook her head when offered anything to eat.

Sally frowned. She and Percy both looked sick. They were thin and exhausted and on edge. They both needed to eat. 

Annabeth snapped after the third time Sally asked her to eat something. She stood abruptly, her chair scraping angrily against the kitchen tiles. She opened her mouth like she was going to yell, but her anger quickly melted to loss. She looked like she had no idea why she stood in the first place. Her outburst confused Sally just as much. She muttered an apology and disappeared down the hall, her chair still pulled out and her lasagna cold.

  
  
  


The next morning at breakfast, the two of them somehow looked worse. Before Annabeth came into the kitchen, Percy told his mother that they had trouble sleeping and not to bring it up. 

Sally touched Annabeth's matted hair gently and pulled away when she flinched. "Come on, I'm going to help you with your hair."

"No, that's okay, I can-"

Sally took her hand and led her to the sink and sat her in a kitchen chair. She knew she either had to help Annabeth untangle it or cut it, and she couldn't bear to cut such long, beautiful hair. Especially after everything else the poor girl had been through.

It took two hours, but Sally managed to brush through all of her hair and wash it in the sink enough for the water to run clear instead of muddy brown. When she was finished, it was golden blonde and dripping wet. She wrung it out and parted it down the middle, braiding it tightly against her head in two French braids. Sally knew deep down that whatever Annabeth was dealing with emotionally didn't lend itself well to things like eating and brushing hair. At least the braids would keep it from knotting again. 

She kissed Annabeth on the forehead and opened her mouth to speak, but Annabeth was gone before she could even find the words.  _ I understand. It's hard. But whatever is hurting you, I'm here.  _

Percy, who had been sitting at the kitchen table silently, spoke up. "She'll come around. We both will." 

Sally pulled him into her arms, one hand on the back of his head. He clung to her tightly, his head on her shoulder like when he was a child. He was much taller than her now, but it didn't matter. They stood in silence for a long time. 

"I missed you so much, Mom."

"I know, baby. I missed you too." 

The first week was the worst. Neither one of them knew how to sleep. Annabeth spent hours pacing the hallway or tossing and turning on the couch. She refused the guest bedroom. Percy slept for an hour at a time in his own bed before the nightmares woke him. After the third or fourth try, he gave up to sit out on the fire escape and cry into his hands. 

Sally found them both asleep in Percy's bed one night. They were tangled in the sheets, Annabeth's head on his chest and Percy's hand on the small of her back. She wondered if she was okay with it. She originally told Annabeth she'd made the bed in the guest room for her. Was it really appropriate for them to share a bed? They were only seventeen. What would Annabeth's father think? Would he even care? 

Sally decided she would rather them sleep together than not at all, and closed the bedroom door as quietly as she could. 


End file.
